Since I work until the wee hours of the morning, I have spent lots of time scraping ice off of my car. When it is 10 or more degrees below zero, my fingers start to get numb and hurt even inside my gloves, and my ears will go numb before I feel them get cold. I have had my doors freeze shut from 12 hours of sleet freezing on them. For the last couple of months, I have tried to not complain when I am scraping the ice and to find some way to enjoy the moment.
Friday night, I think I finally achieved what I have been working towards. As I brushed and scraped the windows, I started to notice the large, downy flakes falling around me. I noticed how there were distinct layers of snow on the car that varied in texture. I enjoyed the full quiet that you get at 2am when the snow is falling and the world is asleep. I even dug in the car to find the camera to try to capture the moment.
I had known there was something here to enjoy if I just tried to find it. My life is made of little moments. I can't control whether the snow freezes on my car, but I can control my attitude toward it.
2 comments:
What wonderful words of wisdom. I worked for one summer in a job where I had to walk to work at 4am along Princes Street in Edinburgh. Although I found it hard to become accustomed to being awake at that time it was a memorable insight into the world around me.
One funny story: One day as I was walking along I decided to check my watch to see I wasn't running late. Being the only one on the street, taxi driver saw my sudden movement and pulled over thinking I had hailed him. He was very cross with me as I tried to explain I was only checking my watch. That never would have happpened during the day :-)
What a great attitude! Very admirable, indeed.
Back in the day, I worked for the a.m. newscast for the NBC affiliate in Peoria, IL. I had to be at work at 4am, so I was in my little Toyota hatchback at 3:30am. In the wintertime, the doors would freeze shut. But I could get in through the hatchback, crawl over the back seat and shimmy into the front. If you kept the gas tank full, it started no matter how cold it was. Loved that about that car. But it was always an interesting challenge -- which door today?
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